


Chapter 5: Modern Girls & Old Fashioned Boys

by distantlight



Series: Albus & Scorpius: Life Is Simple In The Moonlight [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Angst, F/M, Jealousy, LGBT, M/M, Scorbus, Yule Ball, queer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-08
Updated: 2016-09-08
Packaged: 2018-08-13 19:35:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7983619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/distantlight/pseuds/distantlight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Albus & Scorpius head to the Yule Ball looking suave. Their respective partners prove to be a blessing and a curse, and confusing feelings are stirred up once again until Scorpius suddenly disappears.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chapter 5: Modern Girls & Old Fashioned Boys

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 5 of the [Albus & Scorpius: Life Is Simple In The Moonlight](http://archiveofourown.org/series/539242) series.

Albus Potter was feeling distinctly self conscious as he stood in front of the full length mirror that adorned the Slytherin fourth year dormitory. He was the sort of boy to walk down corridors with his head down, preferring to avoid attention and spending most of his time alone or with his closest friends. He was also a conservative dresser, usually clad in plain blue jeans and plain white tops. Seeing his reflection now, wearing expensive designer dress robes, his eyes glowed with surprise at his impressive appearance while his body shook with nerves at the thought of dancing in front of the whole school wearing this unfamiliar outfit.

He had to admit the robes felt luscious, with the collar raising high around his neck, caressing his skin and giving him a slightly haughty, conceited look – the sort of look he had often seen on his best friend Scorpius, and tried to emulate in this very mirror without success. His face was generally of a different kind, intense and slightly unsure, with deep green eyes that seemed to contain depths of melancholy. But in these robes, as jet black as his hair and exquisitely soft, he seemed to carry a newfound gravitas. He almost seemed to melt in the starry sky when reflected against the paneled window, which was being battered with the whistling winter wind.

Scorpius had insisted several weeks ago that they go into Hogsmeade and have their Yule Ball outfits made bespoke. Albus, who generally put little thought into his attire, had wondered whether such an effort was necessary. He had pictured himself fading into the background at the ball rather than strutting around in pricey designer clobber. His fears worsened when he noticed with astonishment the bill, which ran to two dozen galleons.

"For a pair of _robes_?!" he spluttered. "You can get a new broom for that sort of money. My father will never pay for these," he added nervously to his friend as the store attendant folded their robes carefully. "He never spends money on clothes. Quick, we'll have to tell the attendant we don't want them before he packs them up for us."

"Chill," replied Scorpius nonchalantly, "This is on the Malfoy tab. Father has given me access to the family account for my books and other educational items."

"Does this count as education?"

"Of course. I'm educating you in the arts of style and seduction."

"I can't let you pay this much," protested Albus. "You just get your own; I'll wear my normal robes."

"You will not. I'll not be seen dead with you in those threadbare purple robes you were trying on the other day. Don't worry about the cash; my family has masses of money in Gringotts, we could hardly open the door for gold coins when we visited over the summer. Someone needs to spend our ill gotten gains. Imagine how amazing you will feel, dazzling the girls and quite possibly getting down and dirty with a Hogwarts hussy, all because of the swank robes that were paid for with money my father made serving the dark wizard who your father killed! Ironic or what!"

"Robes bought with blood money, wonderful," said Albus drily, once he processed the convoluted sentence he had just heard.

He had to admit he was wrong to have reservations. _I should listen to Scorpius more often_ , he thought, staring into the mirror with an uncharacteristically wide grin - he had no idea that clothes could give you such euphoria or confidence. He loved how beautifully fitted the robes were around his shoulders, giving a shape and grace to his scrawny teenage body hitherto unseen. His baggy jumpers and casual jeans usually made him look slightly awkward.

"Hot stuff," grinned Scorpius returning from the bathroom, his emerald green robes hanging casually open. His blond hair was still damp, falling casually over his forehead, and Albus felt his stomach give a familiar lurch of desire as he noticed the pale, smooth chest curtained by the double breasted garment that glinted enticingly in the low dormitory lights.

Scorpius moved in front of the mirror, fastened his robes, and massaged mouse into his hair so it was slicked back in a classic style. The look accentuated beautifully his pale forehead and perfectly proportioned face, and seemed to turn his hair into an almost white colour. With his wand he casually summoned a bottle of hairspray from the bathroom, and used it liberally to hold his sleek locks in place.

"Come here," he said to Albus, and standing behind his friend he tenderly moulded wax into his hair, styling it to the left so the body of it looked lush and the fringe lay sexily jagged over his forehead.

"Anything you can do with mine?" asked Vince Crane, a stocky hard faced boy who shared the dormitory and had caught Albus and Scorpius in a somewhat compromising position several weeks ago. He had threatened to inform their classmates until his memory had been modified, which seemed to have had the added effect of making his personality slightly more pleasant.

"Wouldn't have thought so, you've got a buzz cut," laughed Scorpius shaking his head. "Suppose I could try and conjure you a wig."

"Can't you make it shiny or something?" complained Crane. "You two look way better than me."

This could not be denied. Vince wasn't much competition, too big for his robes that strained at the buttons and walking awkwardly on his thick set legs. His ultra short haircut did little for his face, with a misshapen nose from Quidditch injuries and ears that stuck our prominently on either side.

But even when they emerged from their dorm room to meet the rest of Slytherin, Scorpius had to admit with a smirk of satisfaction that he and Albus were the two best looking, best dressed males in the entire house. They descended the stairs to the common room and were immediately bombarded with compliments.

"You two look absolutely gorgeous," said a fifth year girl with a sigh.

"You know it," said Scorpius offhandedly while Albus could only grin and go slightly red.

"Looking very suave boys," said their head of house approvingly.

"As always," said Scorpius running his hands through his hair. "I might give you a dance later if you're lucky Professor."

"God, you've become bloody arrogant lately," said Albus in his ear.

This was true. Scorpius had always been the outgoing, confident type but recently it had to be admitted that he had taken on a rather boastful edge. Albus could trace the change back to when his friend had gone home for a few days in October, to try and recover from a bout of tiredness and lethargy. Scorpius had indeed recovered, and was mostly returned to his energetic, ebullient self. But he did seem to have developed a new edge. His witty putdowns now often had a hint of a sneer about them. He no longer walked down the corridors but swaggered along them. Albus often found him grinning in front of mirrors, bouncing on the toes of his feet and nodding with satisfaction as he saw his reflection.

There had also been the occasional, momentary flash of aggression, although this had settled down lately. And when Albus watched his friend sleep, which was several times a week, he sometimes seemed to writhe around in cold sweats and wake up the next morning jittery. Albus had his own emotional turmoil to worry about without pondering on this too much, though. Generally their friendship was a close and affectionate as it had ever been, even if Albus _did_ have to constantly stop himself from fantasizing about his friend or lunging in for a kiss as they talked.

 

\----

 

They had arranged to meet the girls outside the Ravenclaw common room, situated at the top of a tower towards the west of the castle. This meant a long and steep climb from the Slytherin dungeons, and the boys skipped quickly up the spiral staircases and corridors, taking swigs of Volcanic Vodka on the way from an ancient silver hip flask that Albus had received as a birthday present – the flask was once said to have belonged to Nicholas Flamel himself. Scorpius had lifted a case of the vodka from the cellars of the Hogs Head when they went to get measured for their robes, and staggered back with it down a secret passageway into the school. It was fairly vile stuff, but it warmed the throat and most importantly gave the drinker a tipsy sort of confidence. Albus had initially suspected that a daily indulgence in this drink was the cause of Scorpius' character change, but the levels on the bottles never seemed to go down so he dismissed the theory.

By the time they reached the Ravenclaw entrance door they were out of breath, and quite relieved to see that their dates had not yet arrived. This gave them time to regain their composure, wipe sweat off their brows and rearrange their hair in a small gold-edged mirror that Scorpius kept in his pocket.

Albus' date emerged from the enchanted oak door first, and Albus felt enchanted himself as he laid eyes on Selena Black, wearing a skin tight red dress, her enigmatic face artfully painted in dark gothic makeup. Even the usually composed Scorpius felt his jaw hang slightly open at her beauty. Despite being in her early teens, she could have easily passed for a catwalk model in her twenties. Her face radiated confidence and he body had already grown into voluptuous curves that gave her an hourglass figure.

Scorpius nudged his friend, and Albus snapped out of his trance.

"Y-you look incredible," he said, meaning it, biting his lip with nerves that had suddenly returned. Selena simply smiled and took his arm.

Scorpius was slightly disappointed to see that his date was comfortably the worst looking of the group of four. Rebecca Nelson was a pretty girl, but her outfit was all wrong for her, a sort of low cut white trouser suit which emphasized her heaving breasts but did little else for her figure. She also had a habit of making unpleasant facial expressions and turning her nose up as if she had smelt something unpleasant, which Scorpius with his cool, emotionless demeanour found very irritating. She was, if possible, more arrogant than he was, but with none of the charm.

"This outfit shows off my body so well, don't you think?" she asked Selena in a posh voice, although the question appeared to be rhetorical as she gave the younger girl no chance to answer. "You two can go into the ball before us if you want – I don't want us to overshadow your entrance. Once we arrive, nobody will be able to look anywhere else," she said looking up to Scorpius with a smug smile and grasping his hand. "We'll be the most gorgeous couple in the room," she predicted confidently, wrapping her left arm around his waist as she walked tittered tentatively down stairs in high heels. Selena glanced surreptitiously up to Albus with a wicked grin as if to say _is she for real_? Albus grinned back and then quickly attempted to straighten his face – Rebecca was on his left and could see him fighting the urge to laugh.

"Don't smile, Albus," she advised, "It exposes the lines on your forehead. Makes you look most unattractive."

Scorpius was already regretting asking her to the ball – he had only done so because he wanted to irritate her best friend Rose Weasley. He had only spoken to her twice beforehand, which he now considered to have been two times too many. For the first time in his life he felt jealous of Albus, walking arm in arm with a girl who seemed to possess both beauty and class, not to mention talent on the Quidditch pitch - Selena was the Griffindor seeker.

With a twinge he realized he felt slightly jealous of Selena, too – he wondered briefly what it would have been like walking down to the Yule Ball arm in arm with Albus, who was looking so handsome and authoritative in his stylish robes. With every egotistical remark from Rebecca, and every droning sentence about how long it had taken to do her hair, he was starting to decide that it might not have been such a bad idea of Albus' after all for them to go together. It would have shocked people, if nothing else.

He was just beginning to wonder whether he would rather kiss Rebecca or Albus when he realised with a jolt he had forgotten something.

"One moment, call of nature," he said as he rushed back up a staircase and ducked into a bathroom. He emerged after only seconds looking suddenly pumped up, wide eyed with an equally wide grin on his face.

"That was quick," said Rebecca.

"Couldn't wait to get back to you, could I?" said Scorpius smoothly and she beamed as he took her hand.

Soon after they arrived at the entrance to the Great Hall, which was decorated magnificently with the sky bewitched to release magical snow which floated down and disappeared as soon as it touched the floor. Tinsel was shimmering in every direction, and circular oak tables decorated with mini Christmas trees surrounded a spherical dance floor.

Orchestral music and the buzz of conversation was already reverberating from within - they were arriving fashionably late on the orders of Scorpius. Rebecca had been right about one thing – all eyes focused upon them as soon as they walked in, although most were transfixed to the mysterious glamour of Selena Black and the tall, dark, handsome stranger on her arm. Scorpius was ashamed to find himself irritated by this; Rebecca was oblivious to it.

"Everyone is so envious of us," she purred, halting Scorpius on the raised marble steps in the entranceway and giving him a long, sloppy, voluptuous kiss that seemed to him to last several minutes. The students sat at the tables surrounding the busy dancefloor gave a roar of approval, while the teachers looked on with either indulgence (Lockhart) or pursed lips (McGonagall).

"We'll go and get some drinks," said Selena, rolling her eyes with amused distaste.

"Yeah," said Albus, surveying the sloppy snog with a nauseating sensation that for once had very little to do with his attraction to Scorpius and his envy at watching him kiss someone else.

Scorpius wiped his mouth dry with his robes and quickly steered Rebecca to the dance floor where they could get lost in the crowd and he would be spared any further embarrassment. Generally he liked ostentatious displays, but with Rebecca it all felt weirdly humiliating.

"Good idea," she sighed, "I've been desperate to hold you since our eyes met over our textbooks in Transfiguration last year."

She buried her head in his chest as they swayed to the music, which gave him an opportunity to scan the room for Rose Weasley – there was no sign of her unmistakable flaming red hair on the dance floor, and he wondered somewhat hopefully whether she had stormed off in a jealous huff after seeing him in a passionate clinch with her best friend. Her date for the ball was the much older Griffindor Quidditch captain Thomas Hoffman, a boring but dependable seventh year with broad shoulders and a winning smile. Scorpius thought he was very unsuitable for such a vivacious girl as Rose.

"I say," Rebecca said haughtily, gazing upwards into his eyes, "That girl Selena is rather too attractive for your friend, don't you think?"

"No," said Scorpius defensively. "Albus is very good looking."

"I mean, I know you like Albus," she continued, as if he had never spoken, "but he really is a very average looking boy. I can't think what a girl like Selena sees in someone so dull. She could have anyone! She is almost as good looking as me, for heaven's sake."

Scorpius gripped her tighter with an angry grimace, but she seemed to take this as a sign of affection and looked even more deeply into his eyes.

"Albus should have been fair and asked someone of his own level to be his date. A plain looking girl like my friend Rose would have been so much more suitable for him."

Scorpius felt himself involuntarily grip her tighter, rage building up in his chest. This only made Rebecca let out a groan of pleasure and much to his annoyance she placed her hand on his bottom and started kissing him again, closing her eyes. Vince Crane, who was dancing near them with a well built but attractive girl, gave him the thumbs up sign and mouthed "Get in there!" Scorpius forced a wink, despite his brain churning with anger. In his opinion Albus, Rose and Selena were all far more beautiful than the girl whose lips were locked around his, both on the inside and out.

\-----

Albus was surprised at how easy company Selena was. He had not previously spent much time talking to girls, and with a guilty but rather pleasing reflection he wondered whether he was enjoying chatting to her more than he did with Scorpius. He felt the similar sense of relaxation when he was around her, and she certainly provided less of a challenge for his self control, since he wasn't fighting the urge to kiss her every time she spoke.

She was also the funniest person he had met other than his best friend. After several slow dances that had gone surprisingly well, mainly because she had seized him by the waist and led him through the motions, they had taken a seat and were drinking grapefruit juice topped up with a touch of vodka.

"I've never had alcohol before," giggled Selena, and Albus could tell. She had gone from demure and quiet to chatty and playful in the space of a few minutes. He noticed with pleasure the way her developing breasts heaved out of her dress and tried to avert his eyes. Harry had tried to teach him about being a gentleman, and despite squirming with embarrassment during the conversation to the point where he blocked out everything his father was saying, Albus was quite sure the advice hadn't been to leer at the cleavage of his date. Problem was, once he noticed her chest it was hard to stop his eyes flickering compulsively back to it every few seconds.

They got several minutes of mileage out of making pithy, amusing comments about various couples who were on the dance floor, and collapsed into laughter when Scorpius mouthed "Help" over to them, looking as if we was being squeezed half to death by the vice like grip of his date.

"Shall we go and save him?" asked Selena. "Do you want to have another dance?"

"Erm...not really," Albus was forced to admit. "Dancing isn't really my thing."

"So what is _your thing_ ," Selena said with a inquisitive smile.

_Kissing Scorpius_ , thought Albus involuntarily. He punched his thigh, annoyed with himself. Here he was in the company of a beautiful girl who seemed to like him and he was still thinking about his friend, even though Scorpius had made it clear he only wanted friendship not romance, fun rather than love.

"Are you just planning to get me wasted on vodka and then have your wicked way with me?" said Selena mischievously. "Is that your thing?"

"No!" said Albus, offended. "I wouldn't!"

"I was joking, don't worry," Selena laughed. "I know you're too much of a gentleman for that."

Albus wondered if she was expecting him to kiss her. It was hard to believe she was younger than him; she seemed so sure of herself, leading the conversation and controlling the evening. He felt like a helpless child next by comparison.

"Selena," he said in a low voice, feeling his cheeks blushing with nerves. As she turned to face him, he moved forward tentatively. Their lips were about to meet when a hyperactive boy of thirteen leaped over their table, knocking glasses flying and careering into Albus, sending both him and his chair falling backwards. It was Selena's twin Paris Black.

"Hey Albus! Hey sis!" he grinned, as they clambered to their feet and dusted themselves off. "Not interrupting anything am I?" he said innocently, oblivious to the tender moment he had just disrupted.

"No," said Selena raising her eyebrows.

"Why aren't you two dancing?" asked Paris, and Albus blushed slightly again.

"Why aren't _you_ with your date?" countered Selena.

"Gilderoy Lockhart says it is rude to answer a question with a question!" exclaimed Paris. 

"He also says he gets his abdominal muscles by doing five hundred sit ups every morning," said Albus, "But I heard from my father that he has merely put a bewitchment on his torso that transfigures his flabby beer gut into a ripped six pack, so I wouldn't take much notice of what he has to say." 

"Eeeeexactly," said Serena as if that settled things. "So come on, where _is_ your date?" 

"She left me," said Paris miserably. "She wouldn't even give me a dance. Said she had a headache and had to go to bed. She left just before Scorpius did." 

"Wait, Scorpius has left?" said Albus with a frown. 

"Yeah. Said he needed to find someone. It must have been urgent, because he was walking really fast and he left that girl he was getting off with while she was at the bar getting him a drink." 

"Wonder where he has gone," said Albus bemusedly, glancing at the dance floor where Rebecca Nelson was holding two drinks and swiveling around on the spot looking confused. 

"She's going to throw a terrible fit when she realises he has stood her up," said Selena with a hint of excitement in her voice. "I can't wait to see it! She has got an awful temper apparently. Set a Devil's Snare on her last boyfriend who cheated on her, nearly got her thrown out of the school!" 

"Hmm," said Albus. Scorpius had been excited about the Yule Ball for weeks - he was desperate to know why his friend had suddenly left halfway through. 

"Why don't you go and look for him, make sure he is alright?"said Selena, reading his mind. 

Albus hesitated. He didn't want to have to choose between Scorpius and Selena tonight – he knew who he _should_ put first – Selena - and he knew who he _would_ put first if push came to shove – Scorpius. He considered leaping to his feet and setting off to find his friend. But then he remembered Harry's conversation about being a gentleman, and recalled the offhand way Scorpius had treated him after they kissed on the lake. 

"Nah," he said. "I'd rather stay here with you." He reached under the table and held her hand, taken aback by his own boldness. 

"Urgh," exclaimed Paris who was sat between them. "Get a room." 

"I won't be offended, honestly," Selena said with a smile, lifting Albus' hand and putting it back on the table. "He's your best friend. You should make sure he is alright." 

"No," said Albus firmly. "I can't leave you on your own." 

"I'm not on my own," said Selena with a grin, ruffling the hair of her twin brother Paris. "Come on bro, _I'll_ dance with you," and they set off skipping and laughing towards the dance floor, scattering the crowd and forcing couples who were kissing romantically to leap aside as the two of them jumped around energetically. Albus watched on with a rueful smile, which turned into a loud guffaw as they crashed into Rebecca Nelson who went flying, spilling red cherry punch all over her white trouser suit. She jumped to her feet and starting screaming in rage. Several teachers were forced to restrain her as she waved her fists at Selena and Paris who were dancing the waltz almost crying with laughter. 

Feeling this was a good time to depart, Albus took one final swig of his vodka and grapefruit juice and headed out of the ball to find out what had happened to his best friend. 


End file.
